


Driftwood

by athousandsmiles



Series: Solace in the Sea [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Light Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 09:51:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2305463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athousandsmiles/pseuds/athousandsmiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite all evidence to the contrary, Emma Swan still doesn't believe in fairy tales.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Driftwood

**Author's Note:**

> Set right after the return from Neverland, and written because sometimes the Charmings piss me right off and maybe I relate to Emma a little too much.

 

Despite all evidence to the contrary, Emma Swan still doesn't believe in fairy tales.

 

She doesn't remember a time in her childhood where she wasn't the outcast, the loner, the unwanted orphan. The other children in the various schools she attended, the ones who had a mother and a father and a _home_ , used to make fun of her, call her names like Little Orphan Emma. She remembers one particular boy who came up with "muppet mouth" because of the way her mouth turned down into a perpetual frown. It's still that way, she realizes, but now she knows it's because her smile muscles have nearly atrophied from lack of use. What reason has she ever had to smile, after all.

 

_"Love has been all too rare in your life, hasn't it?"_

 

It is on a beanstalk that Captain frickin' Hook, of all people (real or imagined) cracks her open like a long-neglected book and sees her, reads her like no one ever really has, and it's the most terrifying thing she's ever experienced. She'd rather slay a thousand fire breathing dragons or more than to have him look at her like… well, _that_ , like he can see straight through to the (very cracked) heart of her.

 

Now she's got parents, and she knows they gave her up quite unwillingly, which should mean something to her. But it doesn't.She may not be Little Orphan Emma anymore, but she still feels like she is. Maybe having parents would mean more if they actually believed in her for more than just what she can do for them. Because that is what every orphan wants, parents to love them and support them and believe in them no matter what. But Snow White and Prince Charming have just blithely dismissed her concerns about Henry, that something isn't right with him, and it goes beyond some petty jealousy that he has chosen to spend more time with Regina after his Neverland ordeal. Her instincts are telling her something's not right, and not a single damn person in her life is listening. 

 

And that's why she doesn't believe in fairy tales. Nothing has changed. Nothing ever does. 

 

It's no surprise that she's made her way to the beach, finding a large chunk of driftwood to sit on as she watches the breakers in the distance. She always breathes better when she can watch the waves brush along the shoreline like a caress. It's almost as if she can feel them rocking her like she imagines a loving mother would, whispering words of peace to her battered (orphaned) heart. Instead, she's the driftwood that's been spewed out of that loving embrace by forces beyond her control. 

 

She tries not to think of a certain pirate and his ship, tries not to feel some sort of kinship with him, a slight bit of envy that he can feel the rocking of the waves beneath the hull anytime he wants. Can sail away until there's no land in sight, just miles and miles of deep blue sea where anything is possible.  

 

He told her he'd win her heart, and she can't help but let out a soft, cynical laugh at the thought, because why would someone want to win something that's so broken. 

But ever since that moment on the beanstalk, there's been something hovering between them that feels an awful lot like a promise. It seems to shimmer (like magic), unspoken, in the very air whenever their eyes meet. It's for that reason shehad left him handcuffed in a giant's lair. After all, promises, just like hearts, can be broken.

 

"Swan?" 

 

It's like her thoughts have summoned him to her, because suddenly her vision is filled with black leather and the ocean of his eyes. 

 

"Thought you'd be with your boy," he says, easing down beside her. 

 

"He wanted to stay with Regina," she answers, dragging her gaze away from his with some effort.

 

"Ah, well… that seems odd."

 

She snaps her head around to look at him again, because finally, _finally_ , someone gets it. Of course, it would have to be Hook.  

 

"You think so?" she asks, cringing a little at the vulnerability she hears in her own voice.

 

He looks like he's got a flirty remark on the tip of his tongue, but then he seems to rethink it, and says, "Question is, what do you think, love? You know him better than anyone."

 

"I thought… " she swallows, trying to dislodge the knot of tears in her throat, and continues. "I thought it was odd too. He just doesn't seem like himself, and everyone keeps telling me it's because he's been through so much and he just needs time, but my instincts are telling me something's not right."

 

"Then we should investigate," he says, standing and holding out his hand to her, his expression utterly serious. 

 

"Really? You'd help me?"

 

"Does that surprise you? After everything we've been through?"His hand drops and there's a hint of hurt in his eyes, like a little storm on the horizon, so she rushes to rectify her mistake.

 

"Yes, but not because of you. Because of me. I'm just… I'm not used to anyone wanting to help me, that's all." And it's true. She can't erase a lifetime of bad experiences just because one devilishly handsome pirate keeps showing up just when she needs him most. 

 

If she thought her words would calm the storm in his eyes, she is wrong. It only seems to intensify. He looks nearly murderous, in fact, like he wants to rain violence on everyone who ever hurt her. 

 

"Well Swan, I'm not just anyone," he answers with a near growl, looking deep into her eyes. He extends his hand to her again and adds, "If your instincts are telling you something's amiss, then I believe something is amiss. Shall we?"

 

It's true, he's not just anyone. He looks at her like she's precious to him, like he would spend over 300 years avenging her death if it ever came to that. It's the passion with which this man loves that terrifies her the most. How can she be worthy of that kind of devotion when no one has ever wanted her before, when she's been tossed aside like something worthless her entire life? How can he believe in her when no one else does?

 

But he does, and she doesn't know how to react to it. If he dismissed her, railed at her, insulted her, it would be a lot easier to take. This man loves deeper than the ocean she finds such solace in. He loves _her_ that way, in fact, and it is terrifying.  

 

She swallows down her fear and takes his hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
